Dr Eulogio Soto, a scientific investigator from the Faculty of Marine Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Valparaíso in Chile, is the lead representative of the Univeristy as GOBI partner. Dr Soto has a background in the ecology, biology, conservation and taxonomy of soft-bottom benthic communities from the intertidal zone to the deep-sea, with a particular focus on the main drivers that influence changes in these communities in space and time.

Past research projects in which Dr Soto has participated have investigated the fjord and channel system from Patagonia, southern Chile and the continental margin of central Chile. Currently, Dr Soto is collaborating in the project ‘Deep-sea soft-bottom benthic communities: exploring biogeography and genetic connectivity of southeast Pacific seamounts’, which involves his participation in an oceanographic expedition to explore the Southeastern Pacific Gyre (SPG). The expedition targets the southeast Pacific seamounts belonging to Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park, Salas y Gomez and Rapa Nui Ridges, which are Marine Protected Areas, Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems and Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas. His other research interests include coastal and ocean management, biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, submarine mining and the disposal of mine tailings at sea. Dr Soto is an active member of the South American Research Group in Coastal Ecosystems (SARCE) network, whose main goal is the study of biodiversity of coastal marine ecosystem in both rocky shore and sandy beach ecosystem along America. He also contributes to other research groups, including the
Marine Observation Center for the Study of Risks from Coastal Environment (COSTAR) at the University of Valparaíso, and the Latin-American network of integrated coastal management (IBERMAR).

To find out more about the University of Valparaíso, please visit
https://cienciasdelmar.uv.cl.